Hexagram 52: 艮 (gěn)
Judgment
艮其背，不獲其身，行其庭，不見其人，无咎。
When one's resting is like that of the back, Kăn he loses all consciousness of self; when he walks in his courtyard, and does not see any (of the persons) in it,—there will be no error.
Commentary on the judgment (彖傳)
艮，止也。時止則止，時行則行，動靜不失其時，其道光明。艮其止，止其所也。上下敵應，不相與也。是以不獲其身，行其庭不見其人，无咎也。
The image (大象)
兼山，艮；君子以思不出其位。
The six lines
| Line | Chinese | Legge | Changes to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 — | 敦艮，吉。 | The sixth line, undivided, shows its subject devotedly maintaining his restfulness. There will be good fortune. | 15 |
| 5 – – | 艮其輔，言有孚，悔亡。 | The fifth line, divided, shows its subject keeping his jawbones at rest, so that his words are (all) orderly. Occasion for repentance will disappear. | 53 |
| 4 – – | 艮其身，无咎。 | The fourth line, divided, shows its subject keeping his trunk at rest. There will be no error. | 56 |
| 3 — | 艮其限，裂其夤，厲閽心。 | The third line, undivided, shows its subject keeping his loins at rest, and separating the ribs (from the body below). The situation is perilous, and the heart glows with suppressed excitement. | 23 |
| 2 – – | 艮其腓，不拯其隨，其心不快。 | The second line, divided, shows its subject keeping the calves of his legs at rest. He cannot help (the subject of the line above) whom he follows, and is dissatisfied in his mind. | 18 |
| 1 – – | 艮其趾，无咎，利永貞。 | The first line, divided, shows its subject keeping his toes at rest. There will be no error; but it will be advantageous for him to be persistently firm and correct. | 22 |
Lines are numbered from the bottom. Each line page shows the line text with its small image commentary; each “changes to” link opens the reading for that changing line.
Related hexagrams
- Inverse (lines in reverse order): hexagram 51
- Opposite (every line changed): hexagram 58 · reading
- Nuclear (lines 2–4 and 3–5): hexagram 40
English: James Legge, The Yî King, Sacred Books of the East vol. 16 (1882) — public domain; OCR text of the 1882 printing, checked against the proofread hexagrams. Chinese: Zhou Yi from Chinese Wikisource.
Character glossary
- 艮gěnblunt; tough, chewy
- 其qíhis, her, its, their; that
- 背bèiback, backside; to betray, to violate
- 不bùno, not, un-; negative prefix
- 獲huòto get, to obtain, to receive, to sieze
- 身shēnbody, torso; person; pregnancy
- 行xíngto go, to walk, to move; professional
- 庭tíngcourt; courtyard; spacious hall or yard
- 見jiànto see, to observe, to meet, to appear
- 人rénman, person; people
- 无wúno, not; lacking, -less
- 咎jiùfault, defect; error, mistake
- 趾zhǐtoe; tracks, footprints
- 利lìgains, advantage, profit, merit
- 永yǒnglong; perpetual, eternal; forever
- 貞zhēnvirtuous, chaste, pure; loyal
- 腓féileg, calf; to wither, to decay
- 拯zhěngto aid, to help; to lift, to raise
- 隨suíto follow, to listen to, to submit to
- 心xīnheart; mind; soul
- 快kuàispeedy, rapid, quick; soon
- 限xiànboundary, limit, line
- 裂lièto split, to rend; crevice, crack
- 夤yínlate at night; distant, remote; deep
- 厲lìwhetstone; to grind, to sharpen, to whet
- 閽hūngatekeeper; gate, door
- 輔fǔside road; to assist, to coach, to tutor
- 言yánwords, speech; to speak, to say
- 有yǒuto have, to own, to possess; to exist
- 孚fúto brood over eggs; to have confidence
- 悔huǐto regret, to repent, to show remorse
- 亡wángdeath, destruction; to lose; to perish
- 敦dūnhonest, candid, sincere; kind-hearted; t
- 吉jílucky, propitious, good
Data: English Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0); Chinese Wikisource (Public domain texts; transcription CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.